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as for me..i applied to 9 schools..well, actually one school called my counselor and had her fax a copy of my transcript to their admissions office even though i didn't apply..is that even legal? i personally think college admissions is a joke. i was accepted to a service academy, rejected from two of the three state schools i applied to, got almost a full ride to syracuse, and ended up just taking the full ride i got from IU. VISIT, VISIT, VISIT! that's the biggest thing..visit your school. the first time i visited IU was during my orientation and i loathed it. luckily i ended up loving it there. the thing also to remember about state schools..they may seem large, but that's an even better opportunity for networking and getting involved. i've found that more majors and activites are available at the larger schools. oh, and the last thing... TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INTERVIEWS!! i'm convinced that they can do nothing but HELP..that is, unless you're a hermit. it shows that you've got interest and nothing's bound to impress someone more that the fact that you took the initiative to go to an interview. |
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During the past rush recommendation season, I spoke to some of the hometown girls about their college search--the same thing was true in that most kids only applied to four or five schools. On the other hand, I do alumni interviewing for my alma mater, and all of the kid I've interviewed in this cycle applied to 15 or 16 schools. |
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I do believe that there are certain regions of the country where the application numbers are higher per hs student. Although we are below the Mason-Dixon line, the DC suburbs are definitely not considered the South, at least not by true Southerners. I'd be curious if the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston suburbs produce more students who apply to a larger number of schools. Quote:
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Each school is so different from the other, I can't understand why a kid would apply to all 8...other than just wanting to go to an Ivy--which, if you're a non-athlete, doesn't really matter. Even my friends from other Southern cities weren't caught up in the admissions madness the way that Northeastern Corridor kids are. It's tough because some of the good public high schools here will have 250 kids in a class applying to a school...and they won't all get in. |
Most of the people I knew in HS either aplied to A&M or UT and that was the end of it. A few applied to 2 schools (a Tx school then an out of state school usually Ivy league). It was not the norm to apply to more than 3, but then again most of us have already been brainwashed-either you are a longhorn or an aggie. Several of my friends were accepted to out of state schools but ended up staying in state. You can't beat the in-state tuition coupled with the great education.
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As for how to choose a school - just keep looking into things and visit campuses. Who you are and what you like is going to change so much between your sophomore year and your senior year when you make that decision - just stay informed. You'll know when you know, and you can't really know for sure yet. |
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Whoops, what a major typo! Fixing it now....:) |
Doesn't this all have something to do with what you want to major in? My major (Occupational Therapy) was only offered at 3 schools in my state. I applied to all 3 (to please my parents) although I knew I didn't want to go Wayne State because I'd have to live at home (and I was going away no matter what!). So, it was between Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. I had been to Eastern and knew some people there, and they offered me a full tuition, 4 year, merit scholarship, so that was a no-brainer. The scholarship I was offered from Western wasn't as large. Thankfully, I did love the campus when I visited and it felt like "home" from the get go. People kept asking me why I wasn't going to Michigan and I would simply reply "They don't have my major". I don't think I'd have been happy there anyway, because the school is so spread out around the city. I liked that Eastern was a small self contained campus where you could walk from one end to the other in 15 minutes.
I never considered going out of state. My friend, whose son is in college, is scaring me though. They aren't qualifying for any aid, in spite of the fact that she's a single mom and she has cosigned so many of his loans that SHE had to have HER mother co-sign for her new car loan. Now she's being rejected as a co-signer for her son's student's loans. This is sounding like a nightmare. My girlie should get scholarships, but I don't think my son will (because he's smarter than her but also lazier and doesn't care about grades as much). Scary stuff. I want to keep them in middle school.... |
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Part of the reason I applied to so many was because I wasn't sure of my HS education. I went through Pittsburgh Public Schools for all 12 years of my education. Don't get me wrong, I did well in school, took AP's, did honors program and just about every after-school program I could get my hands on and sports. But because I was coming from this pretty shady high school...I didn't want to place all my bets on a school where a high percentage were coming from private/nicer schools. Like I could never compete on paper with a girl with a diploma from Columbus School for Girls...my 3.9 compared to her 3.9? Riiiiight.
But I am happy where I ended up. Even though we get screwed by FAFSA (both parents alive, still married, working, I've had a job since I was 14), the financial aid I got from OC has been great. Money is a factor, but ultimately, its where you feel best that you should go...those two just happened to collide in one school for me. |
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Also, I've found that a "reading assignment" is a whole new ball game in college. Take them seriously. |
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I really encourage you to NOT choose a school based on what you think you will major in. Why? If for any reason that major doesn't work out, you need to still be happy with the school you chose.
I knew in high school that I wanted to be a doctor. I even did a special honors course at another school specifically for pre-pre-med kids my senior year, plus internships. When all the guidance counselors would go on about how all college kids change their major, I was the one that said, "Nope, not me." Well, fast forward to my sophomore year of college where I was pre-med and miserable. It was no longer "me." I realized I no longer had any desire to be a doctor and go to school for so many more years, and furthermore, some of the classes (calculus and physics) did not come as naturally to me as it did for my classmates, which was a problem since everything was graded on a curve. I decided to go in a completely different direction and follow in my dad's footsteps as either an advertising or public relations major. And I LOVED my last two years of college. I was very lucky to be at a school that was equally excellent in both science and non-sciences. (Shameless plug: if you really want to know about a great pre-med program where you would also get a well-rounded education, Pepperdine's natural science division is superb at preparing its students for med school and has the acceptance rates to prove it.) I'm also a big believer in liberal arts schools that give you a well-rounded education. People don't realize that there are plenty of science, business, accounting, etc. majors at liberal arts schools. I'd also choose a school not in your own back yard. The best learning experience I got out of college was living on my own, away from everyone I knew, for the first time. You can go home at winter and summer break...don't go somewhere where you'll be tempted (or able) to go home on the weekends to see mom and dad. And while there are certainly some perks that come from being part of a large home-town university alumni network, it's been my experience that my far-from-home degree gets me more attention than the slew of UW/WSU/WWU/CWU grads employers in my state see. Like others have said, make sure you visit the schools you're considering. That's what sealed the deal for me...I just felt really "at home" at what became my future university. |
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but like i said before...i think college admissions is a joke. |
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